In recent times, there has been a shift to transforming manufacturing and production facilities into lean and mean organizations, leading to a relatively small team responsible for production. In the manufacturing world, to achieve optimal outcomes, it is necessary to expand capacity, avoid downtime, and find ways to save money while maintaining safety. But is there such a thing as becoming too lean?
Read moreOptimizing Supply Chain Management
So how does a company turn its supply chain into something far more responsive to benefit the entire company?
To answer that, let’s first consider what truly optimized, digitally transformed supply chain management can accomplish. In the most basic terms, it ensures sufficient feedstocks, fuels, and other necessities are available to support normal production, but this is only the beginning.
Read moreEnergy Management: From Conservation to Optimization and Sustainability
Reliable supplies of reasonably priced and environmentally friendly energy are essential for all manufacturing enterprises, as well as commercial and residential consumers. Yokogawa helps further these efforts by promoting efficient generation and use of energy worldwide. Our goal is to make meaningful contributions towards the realization of a society where everyone can easily access stable energy supplies at a reasonable price.
Read moreOperations Management and the Pursuit of Profitability: Synchronizing Goals
For a moment, put yourself in the position of a lead control room operator. (Maybe that’s exactly what you are, which makes the exercise even better.) Answer these questions: What is the primary objective of this company? Does the way you’re running the unit or plant reflect that objective?
Read moreProduction Optimization: Improving Upon Traditional Regulatory Control
There are situations where maximizing output or some other variable is not as important as optimization. Running at maximum output may reduce efficiency, causing the additional output to shift the cost picture unfavorably. In these types of situations, reducing output may be more profitable overall. But let’s apply this concept to a larger picture.
Read moreAsset Performance Management: Focus, Direction, and Optimization for Reliability and Maintenance
Trying to manage too many assets with too few people and resources will result in outages and lost production. Asset performance management (APM) tools collect and sort data to prioritize maintenance activities. When deployed properly, asset management solutions within larger DX and IIoT programs save money, reduce risk and improve plant performance.
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